This Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe can be made in about 20 minutes!
Rich, creamy, and oh-so-cheesy, this broccoli soup is a quick meal that is perfect for lunch or an easy weeknight dinner.
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A Cozy 20 Minute Meal
Made without Velveeta, this soup is rich, creamy, and full of real cheddar flavor.
- Move over Panera; this broccoli soup is as easy as it is delicious.
- It needs few ingredients, this homemade soup is extra flavorful.
- And it is so versatile – add in extra veggies left in the fridge, from zucchini to cauliflower.
- This broccoli cheddar soup is ready in about 20 minutes, perfect for those busy weekday nights.
How to Make Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Soften onions/carrots (as per the recipe below). Add broccoli and simmer.
- Remove some of the veggies and blend the soup.
- Stir in cream mixed with flour, and simmer for a couple of minutes. Stir in cheese and reserved vegetables and serve.
Ingredient for Broccoli Soup
- Onion & Carrot – Onion and carrot add flavor to this soup.
- Broccoli – Fresh or frozen broccoli florets can be used, no need to thaw frozen broccoli first.
- Broth – A combination of half and half and broth are the perfect blend without being too heavy. I prefer the flavor of chicken broth however, you can replace it with vegetable stock if desired. Half and half can be replaced with heavy cream or evaporated milk if desired.
- Seasoning – I add a little bit of thyme, garlic powder, salt & pepper.
- Cheese – Sharp cheddar adds the best flavor to this recipe. Feel free to add in other shredded cheeses like gruyere.
Tips
- When adding broccoli, use the broccoli stems as well.
- If you have fresh garlic cloves, use 1 clove to replace the garlic powder.
- Use a regular blender (be sure not to have the lid on tightly or it can explode from the steam) but an immersion blender works well too.
- Just like when making cheese sauce, remove the add the cheese once the soup is removed from the heat. If cheese (or dairy) boils it can separate leaving a less than desirable texture. The soup should be plenty hot enough to melt the cheese to a perfect velvety consistency.
Leftovers?
Diary doesn’t tend to freeze well and it can sometimes become grainy or the texture can change slightly. This soup will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat it can be microwaved stirring occasionally or heated on the stove over medium-low.
More Cozy Soups
Did you love this Broccoli Cheese Soup? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups half and half or light cream
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or pot, cook butter, onion, and carrots over medium heat until onion softens (about 3 minutes). Add the broccoli, chicken broth, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer until broccoli is tender, about 8 minutes.
- Remove 1 cup of vegetables, coarsely chop and set aside. Using an immersion blender, blend remaining vegetables and broth.
- Place flour in a small bowl. Add in cream a little at a time stirring until smooth. Bring blended vegetable mixture to a boil and whisk in cream mixture. Continue whisking until thick and bubbly, about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in cheeses & reserved chopped vegetables and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Lunch, Side Dish, Soup
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Personally I have tired this and it’s very good.
I’m so glad you loved this, my family loves it too! :)
So happy to be trying new things to cook for dinner
Enjoy Nancy!
Can you please put pins on each individual recipe so we can pin to our Pinterest boards?
If you hover each picture you should see a pin it on the top of the image.
Thanks Holly
Wonderfully easy BUT, I was unable to email the recipe to myself. PS…Can’t wait to try it!!
You can take a screenshot to save the recipe. This works well for me when I run into this problem.
BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP recipe is incredible! Thank you so much
I”m so glad you loved it!
The recipes look yummaluschious
Thank you Helen!!
Can’t wait to try the brocoli and cheese soup.
Your recipies sound great an the pictures make your mouth water. Great job!
Thank you so much Alice!
So you can use evaporated milk instead of cream
I haven’t tried it but I do think it should work just fine.
I used evaporated milk and it worked perfectly. I made the soup today. The only change I would do is to minus the salt especially if you are using the broth it has plenty of salt in it unless you use low sodium. But my family ate it up!
What cream do you use to make this soup
I use a light cream, about 10-12%.
Your broccoli and cheese soup looks so good. Can’t wait to try it.
can this be canned?
I haven’t tried canning this recipe so I’m not sure. Hopefully another reader has tried it and can give you some advice.
You could can it with out the dairy. Just add the dairy when you heat it up.
Would this soup freeze well.
Dairy doesn’t always freeze well so I wouldn’t recommend freezing this recipe.
I freeze soups with milk and I never have any trouble with them.
Thank you for sharing.
what do you mean when you say “light cream”? Can you specify what cream to use? Thanks!
Your cream should be about 10-15% mf.
What cream do you use
I use a light cream, about 10-12%. (Half and half will work in this recipe as well if it is available to you).
Can you use 2% or regular milk instead of light cream?
Yes, that would work just fine. It might be a little bit less creamy that way but still great!
I love cabbage rolls and love this recipe.
We love them too Elizabeth!! :)
Just a question, would vegetable broth be ok to use in instead of chicken broth? I need to make this soup meatless, so no chicken broth. Thank you!
Yes that would work in this recipe.
I made it with vegetable broth and it was delicious!
I used cauliflower and spinach instead of broccoli and used gluten free flour. Absolutely delicious!
I changed up a few things on this recipe and it still came out fantastic. Rather than mixing the flour and cream, I made a roux with the onion, half of the broccoli and half of the carrots. Then removed a portion of veggies, added broth (low sodium) and used my immersion blender to blend. Then added cream and cheese, and added back veggies plus fresh veggies at the end. My family ate it all in one dinner. Loved the simplicity of the recipe and flexibility! TY
Eating this soup right now! Made it exactly by the recipe except for blending the veggies and it is delicious! The only thing I would change is to not add any salt, since my broth was apparently salty enough. To me, this is a great recipe that I will be making again.
So glad you enjoyed it! :)
Made recipe exactly as directed. WAY too much thyme; I can’t taste anything else except that.
you may find that dried basil is much more appealing to the soup, I have used it in a similar soup.
Yum!!!